From the time the Pilgrims arrived on American soil, faith in God played an important part in shaping our nation. Images of Moses adorn the Supreme Court in recognition of the Judeo-Christian origin of our laws. But it was Taxes, loss of Liberty and oppression from a mad king that led our Founding Fathers to write The Declaration of Independence and start The American Revolution. Today, those who stand for these ideals no longer call themselves The Silent Majority because we are silent no more.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

John Esposito’s Deceptions on ‘Islamophobia’Posted By Hasan Mahmud On August 22, 2011

John Esposito

In most cases, a patient won’t even realize, let alone resist, when a doctor betrays him.

I am a Muslim. I believe that accepting our (Muslims’) share in
creating “Islamophobia” in the West will help eliminate it. Dr. John
Esposito’s recent article
in the Huffington Post, “Islamophobia: A threat to American Values?”
puts the entire blame on Western “media commentators, hard-line
Christian Zionists and politicians.” He even neglects to mention the
huge contribution Muslim societies have had on the issue. Esposito
ignores that in our global village the West is regularly flooded by
violence coming from Muslim societies; violence which is perpetrated in
the name of Islam while citing Quranic verses and the Prophet’s
examples. The list is long. Here are some examples:

1. A Sharia court stoned to death a gang-raped girl, who was a minor at the time.
2. A Sharia court flogged another girl to death for having an affair.
3. Punishing raped girls/women by Sharia courts is continuing.
4. Wife-beating is openly preached.
5. Child-marriage is openly preached.
6. “No rape in marriage” is openly preached.
7. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is supported by many clergics including some of Al Azhar University.
8. Women are instantly divorced – there is no maintenance in such cases.
9. A woman appealed to a Sharia court to order her husband to beat her not every day but once a week.
10. Sharia-police (Hisba) are invading people’s lives.
11. The persecution of Muslims with different ideas is reaching a frightening level.
12. Non-Muslims are arrested for carrying their holy books.
13. The persecution of non-Muslims is continuous and reaching a disturbing level.
14. Hate preaching against non-Muslims in media is common.
15. Indoctrination of children with such hate is open and alarming.
16. School syllabi are full of hatred directed at “The Other.”
17. Non-Muslim places of worship are destroyed regularly.
18. Lying and deceiving are supported.
19. Civil rights are violently suppressed by “Islamic” governments — often by hanging.

With such phenomena and experience, what else does Dr. Esposito
expect from the West except “Islamophobia”? He also blames the West
for resisting the Ground Zero Mosque. I wish he knew how many Muslims
around the world are opposed to the proposed Islamic center, not because
we don’t want mosques, but because before its construction, the notion
of the center created “fitna” (division) and violently divided the whole
nation.

Esposito is also utterly wrong to state: “Today, opposition to
mosque construction with claims that all mosques are ‘monuments to
terrorism’ and ‘house embedded cells’ in locations from NYC and Staten
Island, to Tennessee and California, has become not just a local but a
national political issue.” I wish he knew that only last month a new
mosque, Baitul Gaffar, was constructed in New York without a shadow of
resistance, or how many euros European governments are pouring into the
construct of new mosques. By the way, women were barred from attending the opening ceremony of Baitul Gaffar (House of Creator) in New York.

Throughout his article, Esposito, a respected scholar, uses
mini-exceptions as general examples. Despite overwhelming support for
Muslims among politicians, he cites a few bad apples. For instance,
Esposito says, “Politicians use fear of Islam as a political football.”
He also states that “Justice Kagan is being accused of being ‘Justice
Sharia.’” Accused? Knowing about widespread violence sanctioned by
Sharia law, as the dean of Harvard Law School, Justice Kagan tried “to
promote a deep appreciation of Islamic law” with the blessing of Saudi
money. If such a person is not “Justice Sharia,” who is? Aren’t there
Islamists trying to establish Sharia courts in the USA? Yes, the
blueprint of American Sharia courts was created as early as 1993 by TAM,
The American Muslims. Plus, who is breeding the home grown terrorists?
Are they Western media commentators, hard-line Christian Zionists and
politicians?

I
wish Esposito mentioned the hate-tsunami against Jews and the West that
roars in the media and throughout the pulpits of the Muslim world,
constantly in Himalayan magnitude. One cartoon against our
Prophet (SA) caused chaos to break loose, but during my long years in
the Middle East, I saw many dozens of worse cartoons in the media about
Jews and their holy book. No government contained that, nor was there a
sane Muslim voice against these cartoons.

Esposito
also states that “all Muslims have been reduced to stereotypes of Islam
against the West, Islam’s war with modernity, and Muslim rage,
extremism, fanaticism, and terrorism” and “all leaders of that
[American] society look at all Muslims with suspicion and prejudice.”
These are hyperbolic overstatements. I am a Muslim; I live in
Canada and often travel to the US – there is a general sense of concern,
but in general, Muslims are doing well, living well and are treated
well. The overwhelming support and protection of Muslims by common
North Americans and churches after 9/11 is on record, but is sadly
overlooked.

Yes, “We all [governments, policymakers, the media, educational
institutions, religious and corporate leaders] have a critical role to
play in countering the voices of hate, the exclusionary theologies and
ideologies.” Esposito should give the same advice to the leaders of
Muslims world.

Once again, in our global village, the West is continuously
bombarded by the news of serious violence from the Muslim world against
women, non-Muslims and Muslims of different Islamic ideas, in the name
of Islam.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

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About Me

My name is Nelson Abdullah. I am 77-years old and after 40 years of working for two major airlines, I retired 15 years ago in 2002, a few months after the 9-11 attack on America. My wife and I have been married for more than 56 years. We celebrated our Golden Anniversary in April 2010.
My wife and I are both lifelong Catholics and registered Republicans.

About this blog

Defending the Constitution.

Our country was created as a Constitutional Republic, a nation of laws, held together by the fabric of the Constitution. The Constitution limits the powers of the government while the first ten amendments, called The Bill of Rights, guarantee the rights of We The People.Defending the Republic.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” —The Declaration of Independence—July 4th, 1776.

Bill of Rights

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.